Summertime
by PattiL61
Summary: Just a very, very short story that I was reminded of as I sat in the warm sun, listening to a firetruck go by today.


Summertime  
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This is just a VERY, VERY short story. In fact - it's complete. Just something that came to me while I was enjoying one of the first warm, sunny weekends in a long time.   
  
This comes from my memories of growing up in a firefighting/EMS family. Such a sense of comraderie and friendship was always felt. Despite the teasing and jokes being played, you always knew you were part of "the family." I hope you enjoy it as much as I did the memories it brought back to me.  
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The crew of Camelot had just gotten back from checking the hydrants in their district. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the mid-90s. That meant that the neighborhood kids were opening the hydrants and stuffing them with garbage to make a nice spray to get cool under. They knew it was going on and they knew that if they had a fire somewhere during the summer that the first thing that needed to be checked was the function of the hydrant, because if you didn't have water, you didn't have any way to put the fire out. The more of a delay in getting water onto a fire, the more damage done by the 'Red Devil.'  
  
So, they had made their rounds and actually were surprised to only find one or two hydrants being used as sprinklers. They pulled the debris out, put the caps back on and tightened them up, hoping that they wouldn't have to come back and do it again. Usually, once a shift was enough to keep the kids in line.  
  
They'd had their share of kids mouthing off and parents trying to cajole them into leaving the hydrants spraying.   
  
"Sorry, Ma'am. If the hydrants don't work properly and it's your house on fire, you'd want to know why we couldn't save any of your belongings or, God forbid, one of your family members. This would be the reason," Jimmy tried to reason with them over and over.  
  
"There's the pool at the YMCA right down the street here, Sir. Why don't you take the kids there to swim and cool off?" Lieutenant Johnson suggested.  
  
"Because I can't take the kids down there when the baby's sleeping inside, now can I?" the man responded back.  
  
"Sorry, Sir," the Lieutenant said and shrugged before he turned to go.   
  
And now, they were back in the house. Some of the crew was grabbing showers, some were playing some basketball and some were just watching a game of some sort on the television. The medics had had a busy day - lots of people out enjoying the weather and overdoing it mostly.   
  
"I can't believe how much IV solution we've gone through today," Kim remarked as she was restocking the bus.  
  
"I know," replied Carlos. "And it's not even the peak of summer yet."  
  
Kim wiped some sweat from her brow. "Don't remind me, Carlos."  
  
"What? I thought you loved your job, Kim," he teased her.  
  
"Don't get started again, Carlos. Ever since you got your job back, it's like you found religion or something," she teased him back.  
  
"Maybe I did, Kim. Maybe I did," he said with a smile as he went back to restocking the bus. Kim just smiled at the difference in him since his close call with unemployment. He was lucky that Doc and Kim were working that day when Nicole tried to kill herself again. Otherwise..., Kim didn't want to think about it.  
  
"Steaks are going on the grill! How do you want them cooked?" came a voice from the back of the firehouse. Jimmy had taken up his post at the barbecue pit that was built in the back yard of the firehouse. DK and Walsh were in the kitchen husking the corn and Lombardo was getting the baked potatoes ready for cooking.  
  
Everyone called their orders out to the cook. "Medium!" called one. "Well done!" called another. "Burn it!" yelled the Lieutenant from his office. Another voice called out, "I want it to moo back at me when I stick it with the fork!"  
  
"Yuck!" Jimmy responded.  
  
Lombardo yelled out to Jimmy, "Why do you ask them when you're going to cook it the way you like it anyway?"  
  
"I don't know what you're talkin' about Joe. I'll cook it whatever way they want. As long as they like it medium/rare," Jimmy teased back, getting a laugh from Joe, DK and Walsh.  
*********************  
  
Everyone was sitting around the station. Some were playing cards; others were watching television. Some were sitting out front, their chairs tipped back against the building. There was the sound of kids outside playing in the distance, but for the most part, everyone had headed inside because there was school tomorrow. They hadn't turned a wheel all night - fire department talk for not having any calls.  
  
"What a great day," Kim sighed as she wandered out front after getting off the phone. "Joey says goodnight," she told Jimmy.  
  
Jimmy looked up at Kim, "How is he?"  
  
"He's good. The usual. He doesn't want to go to school tomorrow. My Mom's trying to get him to sleep," Kim reported. "He's still talking about the ball game from Saturday," she said, laughing.  
  
"He should be," Jimmy said proudly. "He wailed on that ball to knock in the winning run. He's gonna be in "The Bigs," I tell you."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I just hope I can keep him in school through graduation and then maybe a little college," Kim said. "He was really happy that you were there, Jimmy," she said.  
  
"I know. I'm glad I was there too, Kim," he said, looking over at her. "Told you I'd get my head out of my butt one of these days."  
  
"I knew you would, Jimmy. I just hoped it would be in time," Kim said, looking up at the sky and noticing only a couple of stars.  
  
If you listened carefully, you could actually hear a couple of crickets from the overgrown vacant lot down the street. Some of the guys had talked about cleaning it up and making it a little park for the kids in the neighborhood. Nothing fancy, just somewhere they could go without having to worry about getting hit by a car from playing in the street. It was already fenced in. One of the guys had connections in the Mayor's office and was trying to get the okay for it. So far, no luck.  
  
A couple of the others made their way out to the front of the station. They were used to coming out and watching the shifts change across the street at the police station when they weren't out on calls. There was always the friendly rivalry there, but for the most part, they were all friends. They'd each pulled the other out of a jam at one time or another.  
  
"What's up, Camelot?" called Ty Davis from across the street as he made his way out of the police station to head home.  
  
"Hey, Ty!" Jimmy and a few others called back.  
  
"Doherty! You were in my parking space again!" Bosco called from the other side.  
  
"I believe possession is nine-tenths of the law, Office Boscorelli," Jimmy hurled back.  
  
"Yeah, well, you know the law is always open to interpretation," Bosco offered back, waving as he walked toward his car.  
  
Faith came out right after him. "Bosco! Sgt. Christopher's looking for you!" she called to her partner.  
  
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm leaving before he can find me," he called over his shoulder.  
  
"What'd you do now, Bos?" Faith said, half whining, knowing she was going to have to smooth things over between them again.  
  
"Why do you think it's always me?" he called back to her.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, Bos. Maybe because it always is," she replied, her voice fading as she caught up to him.  
  
"You want a ride home?" he asked, changing the subject as the crew from the firehouse just chuckled. Bosco was always getting into something.  
  
"Doesn't that guy every learn?" Jimmy asked out loud.  
  
"But, what would we do for entertainment?" D.K. reasoned.  
  
"True, there is that," Jimmy conceded.  
  
Kim stood up. "Well, I'm outta here suckers! Have a quiet night!" she called over her shoulder as she went to get her stuff. She laughed at the groans at her wishing them a quiet night. Whenever someone did that, it was destined to jinx them and liven things up during the night.  
  
"Zambrano!" a couple of them yelled, throwing old rags from the corner of the apparatus bay at her. She ducked, laughed and ran the rest of the way out of range.  
  
"Are you teasing the boys again, Kim?" the Lieutenant called from his office.  
  
"It's just so easy, Lieu," Kim shot back as she walked by. "G'night!"  
  
"See ya' tomorrow," he answered, putting away the last of his paperwork.  
  
Just before Kim could get out of the building, the alarm sounded in the station. The speaker crackled to life and she listened to the urgency in the dispatcher's voice. At the same time, the crew sitting out front saw a flurry of activity with numerous officers running out and jumping into their patrol cars. Faith and Bosco stopped, with Bosco calling to the others about what was going on. The answer was blocked out to the Camelot Crew as their overhead speaker crackled with information.  
  
"Station 55, Ladder 107, Adam 55-3 and Boy 55-2. Respond to Arthur and 205 for a reported structure fire following an explosion. Be advised, we're receiving numerous calls with reports of residents trapped and multiple injuries. P.D. is in route also," advised the dispatcher as the crew sprang to action and Bosco and Faith ran back to the station to help out.  
  
"Everybody goes!" yelled the Lieutenant as he came out of his office and got his gear. Kim dropped her bag and grabbed an EMS jacket from the hook and met up with Carlos who was joining Alex and Doc for a ride to the call for extra hands.  
  
The apparatus pulled from the station, each following the other, sirens wailing, lights flashing and the American flag on the back of the firetruck waving in the breeze. As they pulled onto the street, they looked in the distance and could see the orange glow from the job they were headed to.  
  
"Time to get dirty, Boys," Jimmy called to his co-workers. The Lieutenant acknowledged something on the radio and then turned to call back to his team. "Dispatch just advised that the Battalion Chief is on the scene and called a 2nd and 3rd alarm already. This one's hot, Boys. We're first in. Let's show 'em how it's done."  
  
The crew took on a serious look and the Lieutenant knew they were ready for the fight ahead of them.   
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The End. 


End file.
